India's Richest

#43 Nandan Nilekani

11.18.09, 09:30 PM EST

Infosys cofounder stepped down as co-chairman of the tech firm in July after he was tapped by the government to head the country's newly formed Unique Identification Authority of India, an ambitious project to provide ID numbers to all Indian residents.

Infosys cofounder stepped down as co-chairman of the tech firm in July after he was tapped by the government to head the country's newly formed Unique Identification Authority of India, an ambitious project to provide ID numbers to all Indian residents. The appointment gives him the rank of a cabinet minister. Authored Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century, published last year. Along with wife Rohini, has donated $5 million to Yale University where both their children are students, to jump-start the University's Yale-India initiative. Continues to hold stake in Infosys.